VICIdial Server Requirements: Hardware and Software Guide 2025
Introduction
If you are searching for VICIdial server requirements: hardware and software guide 2025, this detailed guide will help IT administrators and telecom engineers size servers correctly, pick software versions, and design clusters for stable production deployments. It includes minimum and recommended specs, DB sizing guidance, and operational best practices.
Overview: what affects VICIdial resource needs
VICIdial is a telephony platform built on Asterisk with a web front end and a MySQL/MariaDB backend. Resource demands depend primarily on:
- Agent seats / concurrent calls (highest driver of load).
- Call recording (IO and storage).
- Dialing mode: predictive vs preview vs inbound.
- Database size (vicidial_list and recordings metadata).
- Features (real-time reporting, call blending, streaming).
Hardware must be chosen for the expected peak concurrent calls, not average load, and you must plan storage for recordings retention and backups.
Key community and ViciBox documentation recommends separating roles (database, telephony/dialer, web) for clusters and sizing per expected agent counts.
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Minimum vs Recommended: quick table
Role | Minimum (small test / <50 agents) | Recommended (production / up to ~150 agents) |
Telephony/Dialer server | 4 cores @2.3GHz, 4 GB RAM, 200 GB RAID | 4–8 cores, 12–16 GB RAM, enterprise SSD RAID |
Database server | 8 cores, 16 GB RAM, NVMe RAID 1/10, 500+ GB | 8–16 cores, 32+ GB RAM, NVMe RAID10, off-host backups |
Web server | 2–4 cores, 4–8 GB RAM, SSD | 4 cores, 8–12 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD |
Recording/archive | Low-spec for archive: 2 cores, 2–4 GB RAM, HDD RAID | Dedicated NAS or object storage; enterprise HDDs or S3 |
Network | 1 Gbps NIC, low jitter | 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps uplinks for DB/web cluster traffic |
These ranges align with ViciBox guidance and forum experience: the recommended hardware gives headroom for SSL, larger lists and real-time reporting.
Detailed hardware guidance
CPU: cores and clock speed
- Telephony servers benefit from single-thread performance and consistent timing for Asterisk channels. A modern 4- to 8-core CPU (e.g., Intel Xeon E-series or AMD Ryzen/EPYC equivalents) at >=2.0–3.0GHz per core is appropriate. Forum guidance historically suggests 4 cores for small dialers and 8 cores for larger clusters.
- Database servers benefit from many cores and higher total CPU throughput because queries (vicidial_list scans, joins) are parallelised by MySQL/MariaDB. Use 8+ cores for production DBs.
Memory (RAM)
- DB servers: RAM is critical. The DB server needs enough RAM to hold frequently accessed indexes and some InnoDB buffer pool. For production, start at 16–32 GB and increase as vicidial_list grows. ViciBox docs state recommended RAM for clusters and call out that memory is often the first upgradable resource.
- Dialer/Web servers: 8–16 GB RAM recommended for production.
Storage and IO
- Recordings: store on fast, redundant disks. If you retain recordings locally, use enterprise HDDs in RAID6 or RAID10—or better, use SSDs/NVMe for metadata and HDDs for bulk recordings. ViciBox and community docs recommend hardware RAID and enterprise drives to avoid IO bottlenecks.
- Database: NVMe or SSD RAID10 for the DB gives best latency and throughput. Backups should be off-host or on a different disk array.
Network
- Use dedicated NICs for telephony signalling vs DB replication traffic when possible. Ensure low latency and jitter between dialers and DB servers. For larger clusters, consider 10 Gbps LAN for backend traffic to prevent congestion.
Software stack & versions (OS, Asterisk, DB, VICIdial)
Operating System
- ViciBox (official ISO) is the recommended and supported image for VICIdial clusters; documentation provides tested specs and install flows. ViciBox currently bases on modern RHEL/CentOS or equivalent and is the common deployment path.
- If you choose a custom OS, use a stable enterprise distro (CentOS Stream / Rocky / Alma / Ubuntu LTS as community support) — but follow VICIdial/ViciBox compatibility notes.
Asterisk
- Use the Asterisk version recommended by VICIdial/ViciBox for the release you install (Asterisk 16/18 or later Vici-patched versions have been used). Ensure you install the Vici-patched Asterisk branch as VICIdial often requires specific patches. Community and how-to docs show examples of using Asterisk 16.x-vici and higher.
Database
- MySQL or MariaDB (InnoDB recommended). Configure the InnoDB buffer pool to use a large portion of DB server RAM. ViciBox docs and installers use MariaDB/MySQL defaults tuned for telephony workloads; tune innodb_buffer_pool_size, innodb_log_file_size, and connection limits for production.
Web stack
- Apache + PHP (PHP versions should match ViciBox/VICIdial compatibility). Use PHP-FPM if available and tune max_children to match available resources.
- Enable SSL/TLS for webUIs and secure endpoints.
Cluster topologies and sizing examples
Small single-server (Proof of concept)
- One server hosting DB + Asterisk + Web (all-in-one): OK for lab or <20 seats. Use 4 cores, 8–12 GB RAM, SSD, and ensure backups.
Recommended production starter (up to ~150 agents)
- Three servers (DB, Telephony, Web) as ViciBox docs recommend: one DB server sized for index/cache (NVMe + 32 GB RAM), one telephony/dialer server for call processing (8 cores, 16 GB), one web server (4 cores, 8–12 GB) for UI and API traffic. This topology eases scaling later.
Large deployments (hundreds to thousands of agents)
- Scale horizontally: multiple dialer nodes, one or a replicated DB cluster (or scaled DB hardware), dedicated web nodes and load balancers, and dedicated recording storage. Forum practitioners map agent counts to node counts; as the vicidial_list table grows, DB becomes the bottleneck and must be scaled or sharded.
Rule of thumb: allocate one dialer server per ~20–40 active agents depending on call mix and recording usage; however, test in staging with expected call profiles.
Database considerations & maintenance
- vicidial_list growth: Large lists (millions of rows) cause query slowdowns. Use indexing best practices and consider archiving older leads to reduce table size. Community reports indicate that vicidial_list growth directly correlates with DB load.
- Backups & PITR: Regular mysqldump or binary log backups. Test restores frequently. Keep backups off-site.
- Monitoring: Track InnoDB buffer pool hit ratio, slow queries, and table locks. Some teams run Percona toolkit or PMM to track DB health.
Storage strategy for recordings
- Retention policy: Define legal and operational retention windows. Recordings consume the most disk. For heavy-recording environments use separate storage (NAS or object store) and mount or archive recordings off the dialers. ViciBox docs recommend planning an ample disk (500GB+) depending on retention.
- Compression & format: Save in a compressed format if possible and archive older recordings. Ensure storage reliability (RAID10 or object storage with redundancy).
Virtualisation and cloud: caveats and recommendations
- Bare metal versus virtualization: Historically, community guidance cautions against using low-quality VPS or certain virtualization stacks for telephony due to timing/jitter and real-time constraints; however, many deployments run in cloud or KVM with tuned kernels and SR-IOV for NICs. If using virtualization, ensure real-time CPU affinity, dedicated NICs, and NUMA-aware configurations.
- Cloud deployments: Use VMs with dedicated cores, guaranteed CPU, and premium network (low latency). For DB use dedicated storage like AWS EBS GP3 or local NVMe instances; for recordings consider S3 with lifecycle policies.
Security, hardening and operational best practices
- Network segmentation: Isolate management, DB and public interfaces via VLANs or private networks.
- Access control: Use SSH keys, limited sudo, and change default passwords. Rotate app DB passwords and avoid using root DB users in production.
- Monitoring & alerting: Collect telephony metrics (channels, call drops), server metrics (CPU, IO), and DB metrics. Use Grafana/Prometheus or cloud monitoring.
- Patching: Keep Asterisk and OS patched but follow VICIdial compatibility guidance; test patches in staging.
- Backups & DR: Implement full backups, offsite replication and documented restore procedures.
Testing and performance tuning checklist
Before production cutover:
- Load test with simulated agents and call mixes (predictive, preview, inbound).
- Measure DB response times and tune indexes.
- Monitor disk IO during recording and playback.
- Verify network latency between nodes.
- Simulate failover and test backup restores.
Tune parameters such as Asterisk channel limits, DB max_connections, and web server PHP workers to match hardware.
Common pitfalls & troubleshooting tips
- Under-provisioned DB: slow queries and UI timeouts — scale RAM/IO.
- Recording IO bottleneck: move recordings to separate storage or use faster RAID.
- Using cheap VPS: jitter leads to dropped calls — prefer bare metal or real-time-tuned VMs.
- Not monitoring list growth: huge vicidial_list leads to query slowdown — archive old lists.
Practical examples & sizing scenarios
Example A — Small local call centre (50 seats)
- 2–3 servers: DB (8 cores, 16 GB, NVMe), Dialer (4 cores, 12 GB), Web (2 cores, 8 GB). 2 TB disk with RAID for recordings or use NAS.
Example B — Mid-sized (150 seats)
- 3 servers as recommended with larger DB (12 cores, 32 GB), multiple dialer nodes (4–6 nodes with 4–8 cores and 16 GB each), separated recording storage.
Example C — Large cluster (500+ seats)
- Multiple dialer servers scaled horizontally, high-spec DB(s) with replication, load balancers for web tier, dedicated recording clusters and object storage with lifecycle management. Consult with experienced VICIdial architects for custom sharding and high availability.
These scenarios match community sizing guidance and ViciBox documentation for cluster dimensioning.
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Checklist before go-live
- OS, Asterisk and VICIdial versions validated and compatible.
- DB tuned (InnoDB buffer pool, log sizes).
- Monitoring and alerting enabled.
- Storage for recordings provisioned and retention policy set.
- Backups configured and tested.
- Security controls (SSH keys, firewall, role accounts) in place.
- Pilot test completed with target call load.
Further reading and community resources
- ViciBox official documentation (hardware specs & cluster guides).
- VICIdial community forums — practical sizing discussions and real deployments.
- Installation and Asterisk version guides for VICIdial.
FAQs
1. What are the minimum server requirements for VICIdial in 2025?
The minimum setup for small-scale testing includes a 4-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, and 200 GB of storage. However, for production, aim for at least 8 cores, 16 GB RAM, and SSD or NVMe storage for smooth performance.
2. Can VICIdial run on a virtual machine or cloud environment?
Yes, but with caution. Use dedicated vCPUs, low-latency network, and SR-IOV NICs. Avoid oversubscribed VPS hosting — it can cause audio lag and dropped calls. Bare metal or tuned KVM/VMware setups are preferred for real-time workloads.
3. How much storage is required for call recordings?
It depends on your retention policy and recording quality. For an average call centre recording all calls, plan 1–2 TB per 100 agents per month, or use NAS/S3 storage for long-term retention.
4. What operating system is recommended for VICIdial in 2025?
The official ViciBox ISO is still the best choice, as it comes preconfigured with compatible versions of Linux, Asterisk, and VICIdial. If using a custom OS, select Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, or Ubuntu LTS for long-term stability.
5. How many agents can one VICIdial server support?
A single properly configured dialer server can typically handle 20–40 concurrent agents, depending on call type, recording usage, and CPU specs. For larger operations, deploy multiple dialer nodes and a dedicated database server.
Conclusion
Choosing the right VICIdial server hardware and software configuration is the cornerstone of a stable, scalable, and efficient call centre deployment in 2025. Whether you are setting up a small 50-seat operation or managing a multi-site cluster, your focus should remain on balanced CPU power, ample RAM, fast NVMe or SSD storage, and network reliability.
Always size for peak call loads, not averages, and separate roles (DB, web, dialer) for better performance and maintenance flexibility.
Lastly, continuously monitor system metrics, optimize database queries, and follow ViciBox/VICIdial documentation to stay aligned with official support and updates. With the right architecture, your VICIdial deployment will deliver consistent uptime, faster call handling, and improved agent productivity.